Naval War – on the Lakes

This excerpt from the biography of Sir James Lucas YEO outlines the strategic importance of naval control of the lakes:

“On 19 March 1813 Sir James was appointed commodore and commander-in-chief on the lakes of Canada. Prior to this date he had never commanded a capital ship, much less a squadron, but in his new assignment … he would speedily discover that in the Canadas his instinct for daring initiatives had to be disciplined in the interests of an imperious necessity: maintenance of control over Lake Ontario, the crucial link between the arsenal and dockyard at Kingston, Upper Canada, and the British force on the Niagara peninsula.”

If you wish to know more about how well he succeeded, we invite you to explore the list of biographies.